Raindrops on the Leaf
by Xane Dragon
Summary: AU. A group of orphans follow Jiraiya home one day.


The only time you will ever see this Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 1: Refugees

It was raining, which was normal in this land, during this part of the year. Or, any part of the year really. The reason being for this was simple: this was the Land of Rain. Mostly a forested area, the country itself had become the main battleground for every one of the surrounding nations. Because of this, the ninja of its hidden village were a bit tougher than most, more resourceful, and managed to survive despite unimaginable hardship. But at the same time, the constant pounding meant that very few ninja survived long enough to become skilled enough to reach that level of skill, and this in turn meant the Land of Rain was a very poor, very grief stricken country where suffering was widespread.

But this isn't a story about the Land of Rain. It's about a certain group of people that came from it, and fate was derailed thanks to a split second decision.

--

Jiraiya studied his opponents: two boys and a girl. One of the boys and the girl had thick black hair, while the other boy's was spiked up and blond. "Well then, let's get this over with," he said as he took up a defensive posture.

The blond attacked first, as Jiraiya knew he would. The kid's hand signs were pretty slow compared to someone who was fully trained, but still impressive for someone his age. That didn't mean Jiraiya couldn't read them like a book though. The waterspout attack the kid unleashed didn't come anywhere close to the Leaf ninja.

The girl quickly followed up her partner's attack with one of her own. A pair of shuriken flew out of her hands, followed by another, and another, until a whole barrage was coming at Jiraiya. But thanks to the rain, the things were far too slow to ever have a prayer of hitting him.

Then the third ninja, the boy with the black hair jumped in front of the girl and clapped his hands together as he made the last hand sign for his attack. "Wind element cyclone blow!"

Jiraiya blinked as he watched the normally useless wind attack connect with the oddly crafted shuriken. The paper weapons bent as they got caught in the boy's jutsu, and tripled their speed. A second later, Jiraiya was knocked back by the shuriken…and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Alright! We got him!" Yahiko cheered as he watched his teacher's shadow clone disappear. He looked over to the man who had created the thing, and flashed him the V sign. "What you think sensei? Pretty cool huh?"

Off on the sidelines, the real Jiraiya stood with his arms crossed, and smiled at the kid. "For you three to have come so far in just three years…it seems I'm a better trainer than I originally thought," he said with a laugh.

Konan rolled her eyes. _Sensei's ego is getting to him again_. Still, the origami weapon user was grateful he wasn't striking a pose to go with that statement. Jiraiya may have been a great ninja, but his sense of humor was just _bizarre_.

As soon as the man's face turned serious, Yahiko stopped laughing, and Konan blinked in confusion. The third member of their group simply turned his head over to the man to listen. Jiraiya being serious was a rare thing, and they all knew to pay attention when it happened. "It looks like I can finally let the three of you off on your own with no regrets."

The three newly trained ninja stood silent, and the most outspoken on of the group slowly lowered his hand as what his teacher just said washed over him. "You're…leaving?" Yahiko finally asked.

"Hey, what's with that look?" Jiraiya asked. "You're not a crybaby, are you kid?" He sighed, and then crossed his arms, as it seemed all the others were about to tear up as well. "Look, we knew from the beginning that this wasn't going to last very long. If anything, it's been too long. I've been corresponding with my village and acting as a guard and scout for this area, but I just can't sit around here anymore with this war going on. You'll do fine."

Jiraiya turned around to walk away, and didn't go four steps before he found himself blocked by Nagato. "Look kid. I know this is hard, but you need to do this. Your country is a poor one, with much tragedy. You three can help to heal it."

"No," Nagato told him.

"Naga-"

"I'm the strongest of the students you've trained," Nagato cut him off. "That means I'm going to have to look after everyone. But…I'm still young sensei. That means I've still got too many mistakes to make and learn from. When that happens, I know my friends will be the ones to pay for it. So, please, take us with you. Let us come with you back to your village."

Jiraiya looked down into his student's face, and could tell those weren't raindrops running down his eyes. He let out a long sigh. For a moment, he thought about explaining things to Nagato, telling him just why he had trained the kids. But, his better judgment stopped him from doing so. A person's destiny was never to be known by that man or woman until it was either upon them, or already fulfilled.

But, as much as Jiraiya hated to admit it, the kid had a point. He was skilled, and the three of them together had perfect teamwork that would save them more than once, and allow them to take down ninja of superior skill or power, but…they still had their flaws. A shadow clone of Jiraiya was more than most ninja could handle, but he knew that these kids would be running into things that would make a single shadow clone look like nothing in the years to come.

_Oh crap_, the man thought as he realized he had already relented. Deciding to make a show of it, Jiraiya crossed his arms and held his chin up a bit more than usual. "Alright, if you really want to come with me then…I guess I can't stop you." _I am going to get in so much trouble for this from the old man_.

"BUT," Jiraiya shouted as the three kids broke out into grins, and Yahiko started cheering. "Nagato…you're carrying all my stuff! Konan handles all the cooking, and I get a back massage from Yahiko every night before bed!"

"WHAT?" the loudest of the three shouted. Yahiko's face became with comedic anger, and he pointed his finger over to Jiraiya. "Hey listen you weirdo, Konan and Nagato may take your crap but I-"

"How dare you talk to your teacher like that you little twerp!" Jiraiya shouted as he zoomed over to smack Yahiko upside the head.

Both the other members of the group sighed as master and pupil had another one of their 'bonding' moments. "On second thought…maybe we should just roam around the Rain Country," Nagato mumbled.

"It _would_ be a lot quieter," Konan agreed.

--

Many days later, Jiraiya found himself in much more familiar surroundings. He wasn't in the village, but the woods they were walking through were well known to him. They had crossed the border into the Land of Fire a few days ago, and would be in the Leaf Village by nightfall.

"Sensei, what's your home like?" Nagato asked.

"Any babes?" Yahiko quickly asked as he jumped up from his position to a place between the two. "After being cooped up in that stupid hut for so long, I almost forgot what a hot girl looks like."

Konan reached over from behind the three other ninja and grabbed the loudmouth. She glared at her spiky-haired friend. "Haven't seen one? Just what the heck am I?"

Having learned to ignore the part of his brain that told him to shut up long ago, Yahiko simply pocked the other girl in her chest. "Flat as paper," he replied with a smirk.

After watching Konan strangle Yahiko for a few moments, Nagato looked over to their teacher to resume their conversation. "So, what is your village like?"

Jiraiya looked down at the boy, and thought about how best to phrase it for him. While he had told them numerous stories over the years, he had been sure to avoid information about his village out of fear of what was happening right now. "It's a nice place. A bit bigger than most I guess, but pretty much the same as every other hidden village. More trees though.

"What it really comes down to are the people in the village, not the landscape around it. Since we have the numbers for it, the shinobi there don't adopt a do or die philosophy like in the Rain Village. Our students are allowed to go at their own pace. But what really sets us apart from others is…well, my own teacher called it the will of fire."

"The will of fire?" Nagato asked, confusion plain on his face.

The question made the older ninja cross his arms in thought. After a few moments, he looked back to the boy. "That's just a fancy way of saying that we are an extremely determined people…I guess. Every one of our shinobi has a dream, and they pursue that dream with all of their being, with a burning passion that fuels our hearts and minds. At least…that's what I think it means. The old coot that taught me never really explained it fully."

Nagato sighed. "You know sensei, that would have sounded a lot cooler without the last part, or that guessing thing in the middle."

Jiraiya chuckled and scratched his head. Maybe the kid had a point there. "Ah well, come on before Konan does something stupid."

"GET BACK HERE!" the aforementioned ninja shouted as she waved an origami sword with the intent of removing Yahiko's lower regions.

--

Many years past, and the three ninja from Rain found themselves accepted into the village after a long time of scrutiny from the rest of the people. The war eventually came to an end, as all wars did. Although there was still conflict between certain nations, peace returned to most of the land, and the nations formed new alliances with one another in hopes that it would help to deter such massive conflicts. New lands arose, and old ones fell, people were born, and died, and life went on.

Nagato was able to distinguish himself as an extremely talented ninja from his early days among the Leaf. He became a well-known hero, with a reputation on par with that of his teacher. Unfortunately for him, when it came time to choose the next Hokage, he found himself ineligible because of his foreign origin. There were no hard feelings though. Nagato thought that the best way for him to protect his friends was out in the field, not cooped up in some old office. Besides, Nagato had to admit that his sensei's second star pupil had a knack for inventing brilliant jutsu that even Nagato found himself unable to compete with.

Konan blossomed into a woman, and found herself involved in a relationship that would eventually lead to marriage. Like her friends, she also became a shinobi of great renown, but was less known thanks to working in the shadow of someone much more talented. Still, it suited her just fine. Men were the kind to seek glory and fame, but she knew that they wouldn't have been able to get out the door without a woman supporting them from behind.

As for Yahiko, he was the man that Konan ended up marrying. The loud, boisterous man seemed to be the exact opposite of what a ninja was supposed to be. In the end, he became what he feared the most: a seemingly younger version of Jiraiya.

Eventually, the three had to watch their teacher leave the village. Unable to kill his friend, but still feeling responsible for him, Jiraiya made peace with his conscience by simply keeping an eye on his former comrade. The three students understood the man's decision, and allowed him to do as he pleased with little fuss on their part.

Many years later, the nine-tailed fox came. That night, the rampaging demon took the lives of many brave shinobi. In the end, the Fourth Hokage was able to stop the creature, but it ended up costing him his own life. The following day, the village mourned the loss of its greatest hero, and all of the ninja were sworn to secrecy about the particulars of the incident.

Although searchers were sent out, the man that had been chosen to be the next in line for the title of Hokage was never found, and the previous leader of the village found himself placed back in the position of Hokage.

And now…we come to today….

--

"Man, I can't believe the old man FINALLY accepted our requests to be sensei!" Yahiko exclaimed as he waited outside the classroom for the teacher to get done with his speech. The blond ninja scratched the area under his nose with a finger, then looked back down to the paper in his hands that showed the grades of the three Genin that he had been assigned to.

Konan rolled her eyes at her husband's antics. As the years passed by, she had long since figured out that the only thing that increased with Yahiko was his size, and how loud he was, his maturity level stopped at about age three. Still, the choices for an outlander getting married were slim to none when it came to homegrown villagers. "So, who did the two of you get anyway?" her husnand asked

Nagato looked back to his two friends, then pulled out the papers from one of his back pockets. After shaking aside the long bangs that almost completely obscured his eyes, he looked at the faces of the group for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I had to make a special request to Lord Hokage to get one of them," he said in a soft voice.

"Pfft! No way they're gonna compete with my guys!" Yahiko exclaimed. He thrust out the pieces of paper, and held them up for his two childhood friends to see. "Check it out! One of the Inuzuka Clan, a bug manipulator, and the little lady that's gonna be the star of my perfect combo team, Hinata Hyuga! Sorry Nag-man, but looks like I got the cool eye jutsu user in this class."

Konan raised an eyebrow as she examined the rest of the information written about the ninja. The reason why these three were being put together became clear after a few seconds of reading their bios. "A scouting party?" she mumbled.

The dull way she made everything sound killed Yahiko's mood. "Yeah well…my rainfall can't tell everything about an opponent you know. With the eyes of a Hyuga, I point, she looks, and BAM! We got out target nailed. Plus we got that Shino kid, I hear they can follow anyone's trail if they're able to plant a bug on someone. Then to top it all off, this Kiba kid is from the Inuzuka clan, and you know how good they are." Although, Yahiko supposed a heavy rainstorm would negate the boy's tracking abilities, but the kids couldn't always rely on their teacher's skills to see them through.

"So who'd you guys get?" he asked when neither simply volunteered the information.

Konan showed her husband the files on her squad. "It's a continuation of their parents team. I swear, the three of those guys must have conspired to have kids at the same time to make this happen." The scary thing was, the woman wasn't kidding. This was well beyond planned parenting.

"Cept the Yamanaka kid is way prettier this time around," Yahiko mumbled as he looked at Ino's picture. Then found himself on the receiving end of his wife's glare. He quickly looked around for a distraction, and then tried to snatch Nagato's files from the other man's grasp. "Come on man share! We showed you ours, now you show us yours!"

_That sounded so wrong_, Konan thought while shaking her head. She looked back down the hallway at all the other Jonin that had assembled, and blushed when everyone's heads turned their way.

Nagato sighed at the other man's attempt to get out of the hot seat that his mouth had put him in, and then held up the papers in response to his request. "My Genin squad is Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

Before her husband could say something stupid, Konan covered his open mouth and asked the question that popped into her mind at the mention of the last name. "Uchiha? You mean the he's the survivor of-"

"Yes, that the one" Nagato cut her off.

Yahiko smirked, and leaned back against the wall and crossed his arms. "Man, I heard they were all killed by a single guy. Is what I heard about that guy's…Super Sharingan really as bad as they say?"

Nagato sighed, and shook his head. "It's called the Mangekyo Sharingan, and…I'm not sure." But, from what he had heard, Nagato wasn't sure that even he would have been able to fight Itachi one on one, and he wasn't willing to put anyone else's life at risk to back him up. When it really came down to was that only a Sharingan user could fight a Sharingan user without a numerical advantage, and hope to come out alive.

_For somebody to put Nagato off this much…then again, he was elected captain of the ANBU when he was just a teenager_, Yahiko thought. He shook his head, and then looked over to the other names. Sakura Haruno…the first name didn't ring any bells, but he was pretty sure there was a Haruno woman that worked at the village orphanage. As for the last name on the list… "Uzumaki…why does that name sound familiar?"

"Wasn't that Kushina's family name?" Konan asked. The other refugee didn't talk about her past all too much, something that all three of the Rain Country ninja could understand. "I didn't know she had any relatives in the village." From what Konan could recall, the redheaded tomboy had come from the Land of Whirlpool. They hadn't exactly been friends, but Konan always took note of other refugees that came to the village thanks to her own circumstances. The night she died, there hadn't been enough medics to go around that night, and it seemed normal medicine hadn't been enough for her.

"She didn't," Nagato told them sadly.

The child couldn't have been hers, could it? She supposed that he might have been around the right age. Then, both she and her husband looked at the picture of the boy's face.

"But wait a second," Yahiko chimed in. "Isn't that the kid with the-mmmpth!" Yahiko blinked, and looked down to see a piece of paper covering his mouth.

After her husband stopped trying to disobey a direct order from the Hokage, Konan released the jutsu. "We aren't supposed to talk about that. But in answer to your question yes, he is." She looked back down to the question, and frowned. "But, wait a second. I thought you said she was an outsider. Who was his fa-"

Konan cut herself off when she looked at his picture more closely, studying the face it showed. Naruto's hair color, the style it was, in and that stupid grin on his face…. _You've got to be kidding me_, she thought with a frown.

"Wait, you mean you got that kid who defaced the Hokage monument about three days ago?" Yahiko asked before chuckling at the memory of the image. "Oh man, that was priceless."

After getting himself back under control, he looked up to his longhaired friend and smirked. "So let me get his strait, you're training an orphan with a bloodline doujutsu, and another one who's _also_ the son of a refugee. Feeling a bit nostalgic there Nagato?"

Nagato shrugged as he looked down at Naruto's picture, and smiled a little bit. "Something like that," the man lied before turning away from the others and putting the data sheets back where they had come from.

"Team Seven," the voice of the instructor called out from the classroom. "Your instructor is Nagato Hyou."

Hearing his cue, the Jonin walked towards the door, and the next chapter in his life.


End file.
